Welterweight Brian Foster out of UFC 129 with brain hemorrhage

UFC
welterweight Brian Foster has been forced to withdraw from a fight with
Sean Pierson at UFC 129 when an MRI – required by the Ontario Athletic
Commission to compete at the event – revealed a brain hemorrhage.

Marc Fiore, who
trains Foster at the H.I.T. Squad, today told MMAjunkie.com
(www.mmajunkie.com) that while his fighter is OK, he is required to
undergo another MRI in six weeks to assure no permanent damage is present.

Fiore believes Foster’s hemorrhage may have occurred during a hard sparring session two days before the MRI was taken.

“A
blood vessel broke open, started bleeding, and turned into a brain
hemorrhage,” Fiore said of the injury. “Our doctor and the UFC doctor
said they won’t clear him to fight.

“It should
heal on its own, and if it’s good, he’s cleared to fight. If not, then
we have to obviously (look at surgical options).”

UFC
129 takes place April 30 at Rogers Centre in Toronto and
features a welterweight title fight between kingpin Georges St-Pierre
and challenger Jake Shields. Foster (15-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) was slated to fight Pierson (11-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) on Spike TV’s “UFC Prelims” special before the night’s pay-per-view main card.

It’s unknown whether the UFC has designated a replacement for Foster.

The
bad news comes on the heels of another serious injury from which Foster
recently recovered. Fiore said the welterweight received a hard kick to
the groin six weeks ago that caused one of his testicles to burst, and
doctors were forced to remove it.

Around this time last year, Foster also broke his leg during a game of pickup basketball.

Fiore
hopes to get the fighter back into the cage in June if the second MRI
comes back clear. In the meantime, Foster is restricted from any
contact while he waits on the follow-up test.

“Fighting
is Brian’s life,” Fiore said. “His last fight was in November, so this
was a six-month layoff. Brian’s one of those guys that wants to fight.
If he’s not hurt one week, he wants to fight the next.”

Foster is currently on a two-fight win streak inside the
octagon. He most recently dispatched Matt Brown by submission this past
November at UFC 123.

For complete coverage of UFC 129, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

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